The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 740: The Prison of Despair

Waves of darkness filled the underground caverns.

The evil spirit of Calamity could not reach this place, and Lu Li was safe in the darkness.

An attempt to sit up sent a sharp pain through his chest. Lu Li touched the wound, and an unbearable agony pierced him.

There was no lamp oil, no bandages.

Unsure if this was reality or the fourth level of the Emerald Dream, Lu Li took off his clothes and tore his shirt into strips to bandage the wound.

The pain forced Lu Li to work slowly, and after a few minutes, beads of sweat had formed on his forehead.

At least, judging by the very real pain, he was now in the real world.

After hastily dressing the wound, Lu Li felt his pockets.

The figurine from the Book of the Apocalypse and the Anomaly Currency were still there, as were the waterlogged shillings.

There were no tools, no source of light.Lu Li looked toward the dark river, from which a rushing sound echoed. It meant that if he entered the water, he would only have one chance.

If he couldn't find an exit, he would be lost in the subterranean river forever.

But staying here was not an option either—the situation wouldn't improve, and this level of the Emerald Dream wouldn't end on its own.

Although the Emerald Dream felt real, with each iteration corresponding to a specific situation that made it difficult to distinguish reality from illusion, it had one fatal flaw.

The more levels of the dream, the more mistakes it made.

Unless one's sensory memory was blocked or altered, after several levels of the Emerald Dream, anyone would inevitably begin to wonder: am I in yet another dream?

But it was also possible for reality to suddenly intrude on any given level.

For example, what if everything that had happened since he left the dungeon was merely a hallucination that occurred while he was unconscious?

Lu Li could only remain vigilant and treat each level of the Emerald Dream with rational caution.

And pray that his body in the real world hadn't vanished.

Before the symptoms of hypothermia could set in, Lu Li crept to the edge of the cliff in the darkness, and the cold spray of the underground river washed over him.

Once his body had acclimated to the icy chill, Lu Li slid into the river.

The swift current burned with cold, numbing the pain. Lu Li steadied his breathing, took a deep breath, and dove to the bottom, heading for the exit he remembered.

A minute later, Lu Li reached the supposed exit, but when he stretched out his hand, he felt only a stronger current and a narrow crevice just wide enough for his hand to pass through.

The cave's layout had changed.

Lu Li swam along the crevice for about two meters but found nothing. He had to return to the main cavern before his air ran out.

With no light to guide him, Lu Li could only swim with the current, raising his hand to feel for when it broke the surface into open air.

A sudden cold touched his fingertips and was gone just as quickly. Lu Li tried to stand but couldn't—the rushing current and the water's buoyancy knocked him off his feet. He tried to grab onto the rock, but the smooth stone slipped from his grasp...

Lu Li exhaled his remaining air.

He had missed the exit from the cave.

The current swept Lu Li down the dark, subterranean river, and he completely lost his bearings.

The narrowing cave walls closed in on Lu Li, but he couldn't find a single pocket of air.

Suffocation seized him, the lack of oxygen clouding his thoughts. He could only do one thing: rip off his bandages and punch the gaping wound in his chest...

Suddenly, a bright light enveloped Lu Li, pushing back the water, chasing away the cold, and drying his body...

When the light faded, Lu Li was sitting calmly on a sofa.

Beside him stood the maid in the wedding dress.

She hadn't fallen, and the coffee hadn't spilled.

Lu Li gasped for air like a drowning man pulled ashore, his eyes darting around the room.

After escaping the fourth level of the dream, had he returned to the third?

"Another level of the Emerald Dream?" Lu Li asked, looking at the count by the fireplace.

"No, you are in reality. What just happened was merely an illusion," the count said slowly, folding his hands. "A small trick to test your words. You have indeed proven your ability to escape illusions. However..."

The count leaned forward, studying Lu Li with interest. "How did you know it was the Emerald Dream? After all, no one can escape it alive."

The maid placed a cup of coffee on the table and left the hall.

"My companion told me about it before we were attacked," Lu Li answered, steadying his breathing after the horror of the cavern. "And the dream has many levels. After each level, the surroundings dissolve into a mist with a fresh scent."

"That does indeed sound like the Emerald Dream."

The count leaned back against the sofa. Being a ghost, he didn't cause the cushions to sink. "You are not from the caravan, so I cannot blame you. On the contrary, I should be grateful to you for bringing this news. As an apology for pulling you into that illusion, what do you desire?"

"Answers to a few questions," Lu Li replied calmly.

"Questions? I thought you would ask for something more useful, like wealth, food, power..." The count gestured for Lu Li to continue. "Young man, ask your questions."

"Is the Emerald Dream an anomaly?"

"Obviously," the count said, spreading his hands. "However, the Emerald Dream is not hostile to us."

He fell silent, expecting Lu Li to say something like, "If that's not hostile, then what is?" But Lu Li remained quiet.

The count had no choice but to continue. "Perhaps you're wondering why the Emerald Dream that attacked you wasn't hostile..."

"Imagine a group of children. The ground is closer and more interesting to them than the distant sky. One child loves to kill ants; every day he seeks them out, digs up their hills, and kills them all. Another child is indifferent to ants; he pays no mind to the ones carrying food at his feet, nor to those he accidentally crushes. A third child is curious about ants; he spends all day observing their lives by the anthill, sometimes prodding them with his finger. A fourth child loves these little creatures and even builds anthills for them..."

"The Emerald Dream is the third child. It is curious about our actions, which is why it attacks us."

"Regardless of how much time passes in the dream, does only a moment pass in reality?"

"No, no. According to the stories of the few who have managed to escape the Emerald Dream, if a day passes in the dream, a day also passes in reality."

Lu Li lowered his gaze upon hearing this. "The body left behind in reality... it won't be attacked by anomalies?"

"Of course not. As I said, the Emerald Dream takes no pleasure in killing... As long as you are within the Emerald Dream, as long as it remains interested in you, you need not fear being killed by other anomalies."

"One last question," Lu Li said calmly. "How do I determine whether I am in a new level of the Emerald Dream or in the real world?"

"Is that important?" The count looked at Lu Li. "Can you distinguish truth from lies?"

"Perhaps the Age of Anomalies never happened, and some Calamity has simply pulled us all into a dream. Perhaps we are merely characters in some book, all our actions predetermined. Perhaps we are all in the petri dish of some mad scientist who is experimenting on our brains..."

"In such a situation, we can only tell ourselves one thing."

He tapped his forefinger against his eyelid.

"What we see is real."